the futere of d&d

[Rob-hin]

We talked a bit about the past of d&d, but what will the futere hold?

How will the fantasy worlds devellop, will the d20 system be changed, will roleplaying be the same, will d&d become more mainstream or will only a select few play it?

I'll post my view after an opinion or two.

[DeathLich]

Don't take this as offencive, but I see its future not happening or going into chaos. I have seen many good, fun and old games dying out or being changed so drastically that nobody wants to play anymore. For example the game of Magic: the Gathering has gone way down hill because they just ruined the plots for the books by hiring crappy authors and make new sets called (and I quote) "The Champions of Kamigawa," "The Traitors of Kamigawa," and " The Saviors of Kamigawa." Now that just throws originality out the window and it sounds like it was named so that little kid will say big words like that and think they are smart. They might just make D&D horrible like that also. For example (take no offence), but all of the kids from generations after mine seem to get dumber (except for one who if you say "hi" he just squeeks like a little psycho then runs down the hall, but he doesn't count because of that). Because of people like that they might make DnD simpler for them and then it would be dumb and boring because I personally find DnD fun because it's a challenge. The people below my generation are more interested in how they can get their "parts" larger with pills, how to get drugs that make it look like the walls melt, and set a goal to have more than one boyfriend/girlfriend and a grade point average below a "D" at the same time.

This is why I weep for both DnD and the future of mankind...

[Paranitis]

Well, considering how long D&D has been lasting so far..I don't see it going anywhere soon.

They really do need to stop releasing books aimed at powergamers though.

Maybe bring Al-Qadim, Zhakara, Maztica upto version 3.5 though.

They need to flesh out the story and bring it upto date. Right now there are way too many books to pick up and they don't have much if anything to do with a story, but just about stats and attributes to munchkin out your characters with.

[Rob-hin]

It seems DL has a gloom picture of the future.
Personally, I look at things a bit more colourfull.

Many things from the past make their comeback (disco?), including old books IMO. Temple of Elemental Evil had a sequal and old book have lots of creative possebilities, so maby they'll work on those or re-release them.

Nowadays, Wizards made d&d easier to play. This way thay want to draw a bigger crouwd to it and thus make more money. Perhaps old school players will stop as they age and d&d will be stuck in the middle. No one will play it if it doesn't have a set target group. Plus, Wizards aim to much at book selling. They make players to dependent on buying books. It's done in a smart way, interessting topics, prestige classes and stuff like that. They should release more setting/idea/concept books.

So I think d&d will drop at it's peak and players will become fewer. Then, true fanatic and trueliy interessted people will start playing it again as it is no longer too main-stream.

[Moonbiter]

D&D won't go away. The problem as I see it is greed. 3rd Edition was meant to clean up a mess of a system where not even the publishers knew how many compendiums, monster manuals, addendums, erratas, books, magazines and other chaotic stuff had been put out. To play 2nd Ed at the end both the GM and the players needed a library each. Sadly, it seems like Wizards are back in business churning out drek. The same thing happened with White Wolf and their Storyteller/World Of Darkness system, and it nearly killed them off. I have a completely packed bookshelf full of AD&D, Werewolf, Mage, Vampire, Torg, Shadowrun, Star Wars, Call Of Cthulu,Deadlands, Whathaveyou stuff that is completely useless and redundant.
Imagine my (non)surprise when I walked into my local gaming store and saw the jaw-dropping pile of 3rd Ed stuff that has been rushed out! If there is one decent book out of every ten, we'll be lucky. And then there is the smaller companies like SSS and their Scarred Lands rulebooks based on the d20 system.... *sigh* My players each own a Players Handbook, but none are the same. So I said we use mine, which is first generation, and that's it. It still doesn't stop them from buying a whole forrest worth of paper on alternative rules, templates, blah-waffle-blah, bring them to the gaming sessions and try to push their own special rules on me. When I go Christmas shopping for books and rpg stuff (a tradition) this year, I will need at least a whole day to check the D&D section. I had hoped those days were over.

[Rob-hin]

Well, books are a good way to get inspiration. But it also brings limitations.

But yeah, there are many, many books. Buying them alle just costs too much. That's why I am very selective about what I buy. But the real books I'd like don't exist in 3e ed. Books with inspiration, settings, no rules whatsoever.

Wizards need money too.

[Galuf the Dwarf]

From the sounds of it, this thought may just fit in, although it's the only thing that I can think of for the future of D&D.

Of all things, I can see the Blackguard becoming an actual class for evil-aligned characters in the next edition.

[Taco Magus]

Originally Posted by DeathLich

but all of the kids from generations after mine seem to get dumber

Are you sure they are "dumber" or just have not matured enough as much as you. With that said does the same hold true with older people looking at you?. 14 is not really old enough to making the decisions about a generation of kids that hasnt been around long enough to show maturity :P

Back on topic. I think it will keep changing...forbetter or worse depending on what the person that plays it likes. I'd do what some else said and use the rule set you like...and add/remove rules as you see fit.